Plushie indeed!
by turn2stone
Summary: I suppose writing a Tonks meets Remus story is like a rite of passage, so here's my version. Do let me know what you think of it.
1. Chapter 1

_**Was in my head, was not letting me sleep. So now its on paper. Hopefully now I can get some sleep. I'm repeating what I always say- they don't belong to me.**_

"Sirius! Sirius! Oi! Get up you drunk oaf!"

Sirius groaned. Why could she not let him sleep in peace? He had been kind enough to offer her a bed when she had come over to drop some reports in the dead of the night. But now he was beginning to regret his thoughtfulness.

"Sirius," she hissed as she shook him by his shoulder. "We need to talk about your new pet."

What pet? Honestly the annoying capacity of this girl increased with her age he thought, as he tried to slap her hand away.

"Look I understand about keeping your hippogriff in your mother's room. But keeping your pet werewolf in my room- are you already fed up of me big brother?" Tonks asked as she wriggled her way onto Sirius's bed.

Her room…. Werewolf….MOONY!

Sirius sat up flailing his arms about and nearly managing to dislodge Tonks from her careful perch. Damn! He was an idiot. He had ushered Remus into the only other clean room in the house when he had staggered in just shy of moonrise. He had totally forgotten that was the very room Tonks had cleared up for any future crash-ins. And now thanks to his brilliance she had come face to face with Moony. Merlin, he was the worst brother and friend ever. "Dorie I'm so sorry. I had forgotten Moony was in there. You don't have to worry, he's safe- he's on Wolfsbane," he blabbered.

"Sirius relax. I know he's not dangerous, I mean I wouldn't be talking to you otherwise," she said.

Sirius's eyes narrowed. "Dorie, what did you do?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," came her quick reply.

"Nymphadora?"

Tonks sighed. "I thought he was a plushie, O.K? Look it was dark and I was tired. I just got into bed and cuddled up to him, he was so nice and warm. I nearly fell asleep when I noticed that said 'plushie' was breathing. That's when I realised I was sleeping with a werewolf."

Sirius's jaw dropped. He did not know what to make out of his cousin. He was sure that she must have had a couple of serious head traumas during her Auror training. He really needed to consult Mad-Eye on that. "Dorie are you sure you're not in shock," he asked. "After all you just realised that you were sharing your bed with a werewolf."

"Sirius, he was asleep, he didn't even stir. If he had been feral, he would have killed me the moment I had entered the room," she said smiling at his shocked face. "You know being an Auror does have its upsides. Keeping calm under crisis and situation evaluation before jumping to conclusions, never know when they come in handy. "

Sirius let out the breath he had not realised he had been holding. Relief had barely started to settle in when Tonks asked, "So, is he new?"

"Is he new what," parroted Sirius.

"Geez old man you're slow. I asked if he was a new Order member," she repeated slowly.

"Who? Moony? No, he was there during the last war too. An old friend actually. We went to school together. He's a neat bloke, you'll like him."

"And his name is Moony?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Naah, that's just a school time nickname. Its Remus Lupin," yawned Sirius.

"Remus Lupin. Hmm, talk about irony," said Tonks. "Wait, wasn't he the one teaching at Hogwarts when you-"

"Yes Dorie," smiled Sirius. "However love, its rather late and both of us are tired; shouldn't we be thinking about your temporary sleeping arrangements?"

"Well," said Tonks as she settled herself beside Sirius, "Since you have given away my bed to your Remus, I get to hog yours. If you have the tendency to snore, then I suggest you seek your beauty sleep elsewhere." With that she burrowed into the blankets and drifted off to sleep.

Sirius stared at the rainbow hued hair peeking out from the covers for a while and shook his head in wonder. His little Dorie never ceased to amaze him. As he settled down by her side, his last thoughts were that Remus wouldn't know what hit him. Plushie indeed!


	2. Chapter 2

_**The morning after… between Remus and Sirius as they discuss Tonks.**_

Returning to consciousness after a full moon had always been a sore business- no pun intended- for Remus Lupin; however on this particular morning not only was he feeling terribly sore all over, but was also experiencing a rather heavy weight on his limbs. Too weary to actually look for the source of said weight, he instead tried to wriggle it off his legs. However after several attempts he was unsuccessful. So using the last ounce of his strength he heaved his legs off the weight and dumped them on it. This resulted in a sharp exhalation and a groan from the weight. Curious, he nudged the weight with his toes- it nudged back. Now Remus was somewhat awake, knowing what kinds of creatures lurked in the house he became wary as to what he was sharing his bed with. He groped at the bedside table for his wand as he gave the weight a sharp jab with his foot.

"Oi! Stop it; I'm not a pin cushion. Neither am I your foot stool. Off with the legs Remus!"

"Sirius? What are you doing here?" asked Remus blearily.

Sirius shifted Remus's legs off him and sat up against the foot rest. "I was evicted from my room," he announced.

"Buckbeak finally stood up to your awful bedside manners?" asked Remus as he tried to make himself comfortable again. "Just so you know, I'm on his side on this."

"Shut up prat. Tonks threw me out, not Beaky."

"Who's Tonks?" asked Remus through a yawn.

"Andromeda's kid. Told you she came in with Moody a few days back."

"Moody's prodigy?" enquired Remus.

"And my baby cousin," added Sirus.

"And she threw you out of your own room?" Remus raised an eyebrow. "You're going soft Padfoot."

Sirius scrowled. "She claimed that I snore. And I was on a guilt trip already, so…"

"Guilt trip?"

"Well, she had cleaned out this room the other day, using mostly muggle means mind you- her household spells are hazardous; and then the first time she crashes in for the night- not only have I given up her room to my best friend but I also forget to mention that part to her," came Sirius's careful reply.

"You what?" Remus yelped, eyes wide and nearly falling out of the bed. He grabbed Sirius by the arm in terror, "She saw me as… Is she alright? What did you tell her? Are we going to have to…"

"Woah there wolfy. Don't get your knickers in a twist. You're hyperventilating, take a deep breath and relax," said Sirius as he patted Remus's arm soothingly.

"Relax? You're asking me to relax? Your cousin's an Auror, she just met a werewolf last night- in her room. She-"

"She thought you were a plushie!" cut in Sirius.

"Wha-" Remus gapped at him. "Come again?"

"She thought you were a plushie. Nice and warm and cuddly," smirked Sirius. "Her words not mine."

Remus's mouth hung open in shock. He could not make heads or tails of this astonishing situation.

"Oi silent movie, say something. I believe my cousin just paid our Moony a major compliment."

"Does she not need a healer? She's not normal," mumbled Remus.

"She's a Black."

"That sure explains a lot," muttered Remus.

Sirius laughed. "Aww, cheer up Remus. When was the last time a girl actually adored your wild side," he sniggered.

"She's your cousin, Sirius. Please," Remus groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"I know who she is, thank you very much. But that still doesn't change the fact that she fou-"

"_Silenco,"_ Remus said, jabbing his wand at his friend. "Not another word. We are going to go downstairs like civilized men and eat breakfast." With that he slipped out of bed and began to dress himself up. Once he was done; he headed for the door, pausing to look at Sirius who was lying spread-eagled on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Coming?" No response. Remus sighed and flicked his wand; thus ending his charm on his friend. Come on get up. It's your turn to cook."

"Hmm… Breakfast for three. Right, coming up in a minute," said Sirius with a broad grin as he pulled himself up from his prone position. "Cereal or toast, dear?"

"Are you thinking of inviting Kreacher over for breakfast?"

"Tonks, Remus. Not Kreacher," muttered Sirius as he scratched his head. "It's the least I can do after last night's little fiasco. Jokes apart Remus, I really messed up things a bit last night." With that he grabbed Remus by the arm and pulled his onto the landing, only to Remus to say, "Well, since you'll be having company for breakfast; I can have a lie in. I'm not hungry anyway."

Sirius cocked an eyebrow as he leaned against the wall, facing his friend. "You really need to pick out better excuses than that. You're not hiding from Tonks or anyone else for that matter. I get the part where a bunch of buffoons are prejudiced against werewolves, but then that's what they are- a prejudiced bunch of buffoons, who have no idea of what they are missing out on. You my friend have nothing to be ashamed of and you do not get to treat yourself like the trash they believe you to be. I simply won't let. Even if that means I have to drill in into your head every single day till the day you die. On second thoughts, I'd haunt you in afterlife too," concluded Sirius while giving Remus a stern stare. "Come on, all this heavy conversation has made me ravenous and you can show your appreciation to my pep talk by cooking up some eggs for me."

Remus simply smiled. "After you my lord."


	3. Chapter 3

_**I know I'm late. My excuse still stands- Writer's block. **_

_**Enjoy**_

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Tonks was a girl with good intentions. She may be dead clumsy, may on an occasion shove her foot in her mouth, or perhaps even annoy the daylights of the living. But in all honesty her heart was pure and her intentions were nothing short of being good.

She may have kicked her cousin out of his bed- in her defense, she was exhausted and he was snoring- but she felt a tad bit guilty about kicking the older man out of his own bed. She was not sure if he managed to find a comfortable place to sleep in seeing that the only other place would be her room, which was already occupied by his- Oh dear, oh crap, she was dead sure that was where Sirius spent the rest of the night. And knowing him, he would not have wasted any time at all in spilling the beans on her to his friend. The very friend whom she was sure she would have embarrassed to extinction even before they had the opportunity to meet each other face to face. She groaned into the pillows. Trust her to screw up so early into the Order and that too with a senior member and Sirius's friend to the boot.

Well it was time for some damage control. With that thought she kicked off the covers and jumped off the bed. She would go and cook up some breakfast. It won't be anything fancy but knowing what she knew off men in general (Men are sloppy. They don't clean after them and are generally messy. They can't cook to save their lives) she was sure her gesture would be welcomed and would serve to be a good ice breaker for all the tension she was certain Sirius would have managed to build up in her absence. And from what she had learnt of werewolves, she was sure that the transformations were both painful and exhausting and that Remus Lupin would definitely be hungry. Yes, cooking breakfast would be an excellent gesture in a very 'please- don't- freak- out- coz- I- cuddled- up- to- you- by- mistake- last- night- and- no- I'm- not- phased- out- with- you- being- a- werewolf- can- we- please- forget- it- ever- happened- and- start- fresh' way.

As she tiptoed down the stairs she prayed that there be at least something in the kitchen. She plans to cook would be useless if all the kitchen had to offer were bare cupboards. She was so lost in her thoughts that she failed to realize that she had managed to cross the hallway without waking up the portraits and was currently pressing her palms gently on the heavy door that opened to the kitchen. The only thing that stopped her from proceeding was the faint hum emanating from the other side of the door. The Auror in her twitched her head, pulling her wand out on the ready; she pressed her ear to the thick door.

"No, not there. I'm sure its in the other drawer."

"Its not Moony. I've checked."

Voices. Faint voices.

People. She eyes widened. There were actually people in the kitchen. And not just anyone but Sirius and his friend. This was all wrong. They were supposed to be sleeping. Who on earth gets up at 7am on a Saturday morning. Her plans had been washed down the drain. She wondered if there was higher power out on her case or she simply had the worst luck in the Wizarding world. She started debating between going in or simply going home. She was highly in favour of the latter. She knew it was cowardly but given the luck she had been having, she was positive that walking through that door would lead her straight to hell.

"Fine. Will you stop whining? I'll go and run down to the bakery. Happy?"

Footsteps drew near. And even before her mind could register the changes in dynamics behind the door; she felt the door slip away from her. Cursing her stars, she closed her eyes as she went to embrace the cold hard floor; only to come in contact with rough, warm fabric and a steady heartbeat under her cheek, and a pair of large hands on her elbows.

Looking up, her eyes found deep, chocolaty brown eyes (that definitely did not belong to Sirius) crinkled in surprise and amusement.

Yes. She certainly had the worst luck in the Wizarding world.

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_**So they finally met. That's all I can think of now. Where does it go from here? Any suggestions?**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I think I had a brainwave. Putting it on paper now **____** I think this story ends here now that they have finally met. Though I may add on later if needs be. Please do let me know what you think of it.**_

_**I would like to thank all those who took time to read, review, favourite or follow this story. If I have not replied to any of your reviews, I apologise. Thank you for supporting me through my venture **___

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"Plushie meet Cuddles. Cuddles meet Plushie!"

That was all that came out of Sirius's mouth before he felt the heat and next thing he knew was that somehow he was on the floor and immobile; and hurt. He could vaguely make out two figures hovering above him.

"That's interesting. What did you hit him with?"

"Stinging hex. You? "

"Jelly Legs jinx."

"I like the combination. Tentacles and boils."

"Not to mention the colour, reminds me of the pansies in our garden."

"Now that my annoying friend is out of the way, can we start over again? I'm Remus Lupin and I'm terribly sorry for any inconvenience you had to face- "

"No! Please don't apologise. I'm sure I've made a colossal fool of myself and not mention all the beans Sirius would have spilled," interrupted Tonks as she shuddered with the thought.

"Well then, shall we try again. They do say third time is the charm. I'm Remus Lupin, an old friend of Sirius," he smiled, extending his hand.

"Nymhadora Tonks, Sirius' cousin who prefers to be addressed by her last name," she replied as she grabbed his hand.

"Point taken Tonks. Breakfast?"

"Starving."

"I'm afraid we seem to be all out of bread. Would you like some cereal instead?" asked Remus as he ushered her towards the table.

"Cereal's good. But what do we do with Mr. Tentacles and boils?" she asked nodding her head at Sirius' prone figure.

"Aah, I'm not sure. We can hardly admit him into St. Mungo's Spell Damage ward now, can we? And I doubt either of us is capable of handling such extensive damage; we might do more harm than good," he replied with a smirk.

"Hmm… You're right. I bet Moody can though. And I'm sure he'll be more than glad to have Sirius volunteer for his Constant Vigilance Campaign in front of the whole Order before turning him back to normal," she countered with a grin.

"Why Miss Tonks, you are a woman after my own heart. I believe we shall get along famously."

"I second that opinion Mr. Lupin. To a new friendship. Shall we seal it with cereal?"

Sirius could only watch in horror as his cousin and best friend continued to ignore him and eat their breakfast; as he lay on the floor awaiting his doom.

…FIN….. for now, I think.


End file.
